


what a view

by dare121



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Jealousy, Matchmaking, Secret Kalex Santa 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-23 18:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17085833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dare121/pseuds/dare121
Summary: Alex wasn’t whistling, but the way her shoulders looked – relaxed and gleaming in the sunlight from above – reminded Kara of a tune she’d heard from Alex when they’d both been teens. Kara hadn’t heard it in years, but she couldn’t help connecting the way it had made her feel to the way Alex leaned against the railing and looked out at the water.“Quite the view, yes?” Lena asked from next to Kara, clad in nothing but a dark blue bikini. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of oversized sunglasses and her mouth was pulled into a little smirk as Kara followed her line of sight.Somehow, she got the odd feeling Lena wasn’t talking about the ocean.---or, Alex, Kara and Lena are out on a yacht together, taking a little vacation. Lena has plans. Kara's not sure she likes them





	what a view

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Geekgrrllurking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekgrrllurking/gifts).



> phew phew phew look at me writing something this month after all. it wasn't a story every day like i'd planned, but at least this is is something nice!
> 
> It's my secret kalex santa contribution for geekgrrllurking!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this! And everyone else, too! ♥

Alex wasn’t whistling, but the way her shoulders looked – relaxed and gleaming in the sunlight from above – reminded Kara of a tune she’d heard from Alex when they’d both been teens. Her foster sister had whistled it to her sometimes before Jeremiah had died, when Kara had been curled up next to her on bad nights. Kara hadn’t heard it in years, but she couldn’t help connecting the way it had made her feel to the way Alex leaned against the railing and looked out at the water.

“Quite the view, yes?” Lena asked from next to Kara, clad in nothing but a dark blue bikini and a small shift wrapped around her waist. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of oversized sunglasses and her mouth was pulled into a little smirk as Kara followed her line of sight.

Somehow, she got the odd feeling Lena wasn’t talking about the ocean.

They’d been out on the water for about half a day at this point. A little under a month ago Lena had made an offhand comment about Kara and Alex deserving some time off from all of their hard DEO and Supergirl duties, and she’d offered up her enormous yacht as a place to disappear on. It had taken a while to convince Alex that she, indeed, could spend some of her vacation days – finally.

And yet, now, here they were, just the three of them and Lena’s crew.

“It’s nice out,” Kara agreed, scratching at the back of her ear as she tried not to stare at Alex’s mostly naked back. There were scars there that Kara wanted to caress and kiss, as well as the tiniest sliver of the tattoo on Alex’s ribs.

Lena hummed noncommittally, lifting her sunglasses and letting her eyes run along the back of Alex’s legs. There were scars there, too, standing out starkly against Alex’s muscles, which shifted whenever she adjusted her stance. The way Lena’s gaze lingered on Alex’s butt made Kara’s cheeks flush.

“You know, I had an ulterior motive for inviting you two here. Part of it was so I could see Agent Danvers in something more… casual,” Lena whispered, lifting the magazine in her hand a little higher to hide her mouth, even though Alex was standing with her back to them.

“Oh?” Kara squeaked, trying not to squeeze the armrests of her sun lounger until they cracked and crumbled under her hands.

This was news to Kara. Despite the fact that the two of them had been friends for years at this point, Lena had never expressed an interest in Alex before. In fact, Alex had insisted for a time that Lena was interested in _Kara_ , if anything. Either scenario didn’t seem plausible. Lena was a beautiful, kind, loving genius billionaire. She could have anyone she wanted, and neither a secretive superhero journalist nor an occasionally aggressive if determined secret agent seemed like her type.

“Don’t get me wrong, she looks great in what she wears to work, but there’s just something else about seeing people at sea, isn’t there?” Lena continued, sending Kara a little wink. “Don’t you think so?” She fanned herself with one hand, letting the magazine sag against her chest. “I don’t know how you can be around her so much, and so very, _very_ closely, all the time. Doesn’t it ever get tempting?”

“Um, tempting?” Kara asked, trying not to think of all the times Alex had snuggled up to her at night and how often she’d had to stop herself from nuzzling into her foster sister’s soft hair. She wasn’t sure why Lena was trying to insinuate something about them. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Lena shook her head and waved her off.

“Never mind,” she said, before going back to her magazine, while Kara tried to avoid looking at Alex.

 

-

 

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve been in a bed this nice, and we’re on a goddamn _boat_ ,” Alex groaned as she snuggled deeper into the blankets she’d wrapped around herself. Next to her, Kara had her arms crossed behind her head and was staring up at the ceiling, only one of her feet under the blanket Alex had hogged all to herself.

“It sure is a nice yacht,” she agreed only absentmindedly, her eyes tracing the intricate woodwork above them. The soft noises the water made outside were putting her into a more trance-like mood than she’d experienced in a while.

“Although I don’t know why Lena had to make us share a room,” Alex commented without malice. “The thing looks like it has at least four separate guest rooms.” She was turned towards Kara, but her words were muffled just slightly because most of her face was pressed into the soft pillow. The sheets were pristinely white and Kara enjoyed the look of Alex’s skin color against it far too much to be looking at her.

She offered a shrug to Alex’s question.

“Guess she figured we wouldn’t want to be separated on our trip,” Kara mused, her eyes only half-lidded and the warmth of the atmosphere soothing her senses. No noises from the city until she really, really concentrated. No cries for help unless she wanted them inside her head. No emergencies except for Alex’s soft hand sneaking out from under the blanket and tugging at her ear.

“I can never escape,” Alex said, tugging a little harder until Kara finally turned her head.

“Oh, I know, how awful for you,” Kara whispered sweetly, giving Alex a sarcastic little smile.

“I even have to spend my vacation with you.” Alex moved her hand to Kara’s arm and tugged there, next. This time, Kara wasn’t quite sure what her foster sister wanted, so she untucked her hands and rolled onto her side so she was facing Alex fully. “Supergirl has truly taken over every part of my life.”

“Well, not _every_ part,” Kara defended herself, following Alex’s fingers with her eyes as they drifted to Kara’s own. She pulled on them until Kara had shuffled closer and had her arm wrapped around Alex’s waist on top of the blanket. Finally, Alex’s arm once again disappeared under white fluffiness. “And I’m just letting you know now that your actions and your words contradict each other.”

Alex smiled and closed her eyes.

“I never said I didn’t like it,” she admitted, bringing a gentle blush to Kara’s cheeks.

“Charmer.”

Leaning in, Kara pressed a soft kiss against Alex’s eyebrow.

 

-

 

The scent in her nose made Kara purr and she softly but insistently pulled the weight in her arms a little closer, settling her nose more fully against the soft fragrant skin.

“Mmh,” the weight in her arms replied, before snuggling ever more tightly into the blankets and Kara’s body. “D’you think Lena is waiting for us?”

Alex’s voice sounded deep and rough from sleep, and Kara had to fight hard against the urge to dig her teeth into Alex’s neck until she squirmed and forgot about their friend. It was petty, especially because Lena was the very reason they were here together, but she couldn’t help it. The talk she’d had with the woman the day before had made Kara feel more insecure than she had in months. Ever since Alex had broken up with her latest fling in January, Kara had had her foster sister all to herself again and it was nice. Having to share her with other women wasn’t on Kara’s top list of favorite things, even though it made her feel a little guilty, too.

Alex had never acted in a possessive manner towards her when she was seeing someone, after all.

Though, in all fairness, Kara didn’t tend to focus on her partners much. Not since those few weeks years ago where she’d gotten hopelessly sucked into a vortex of toxicity and pain with the Daxamite.

She pushed the memories of him aside quickly, having long since dealt with the lingering resentment she felt towards him.

“Kara?” Alex repeated, clearly having felt Kara’s arms tense just slightly. It was hard to hide when they were pressed against each other like this, albeit with a blanket squashed between them. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Kara moved her nose up and into Alex’s hair. “Just having some thoughts.”

Slowly, Alex wriggled around until she was on her back and Kara was pressed more against her cheek.

“Bad thoughts?”

Shrugging just slightly, Kara rubbed her cheek against Alex’s before dipping down and hiding her face against her neck again. Alex’s arms appeared from within the blanket, warm and gentle as they wrapped themselves around Kara’s back.

“Love you,” she murmured, carding her fingers through Kara’s hair and scratching at her scalp in a soothing manner.

Before Kara could say anything in reply, a knock sounded, and the door was being pushed open.

“Morning,” Lena said cheerily as she walked in, before taking a tray from one of her crew members. “Thank you, Charlotte.” She dismissed the young woman with a smile, who nodded and walked off, while Alex uncurled her arms from around Kara and sat up, prompting Kara to roll away from her and sit up, too.

“Hey,” Alex said, self-consciously running a hand through her disheveled hair, which drew a suspicious look from Kara. Why would Alex be self-conscious about what she looked like in front of their friend? And was she imagining things, or had Lena just winked at Alex?

“Morning,” Kara grumbled, pulling her own hair back into a ponytail.

“I see you’re having a somewhat slow start,” Lena said, kicking the door to their room shut behind herself and coming over with the tray. “I figured you might need some breakfast.”

“How long have you been up?” Alex asked as she first accepted the tray and then the tablet Lena had been carrying wedged between her arm and side. Somehow, even out here, Lena’s company managed to get Wi-Fi. Kara didn’t question it, especially when Alex reached for her reading glasses and opened up the CatCo app to read through the news.

“Oh, just a couple of hours,” Lena replied, sitting herself down next to Alex’s legs and handing a medium-sized, closed pot over to Kara with a smile. “I had some paperwork I wanted to look at first thing. And I got a good workout in.” She encouraged Kara to open the pot. “Go ahead, I had it made specially for you.”

Feeling slightly mollified by the thought of food, Kara lifted the lid and immediately gave off a slightly inappropriate noise of pleasure as the scent hit her nostrils.

“You didn’t,” she whispered reverently, immediately grabbing a fork and stuffing a healthy serving of the scrambled eggs with veggies into her mouth.

“I did,” Lena said with a smirk.

“Hm?” Alex looked up from her tablet, letting her eyes wander from one woman to the other. “What?”

Kara squealed and was about to stab her fork back into the bowl, but Lena was somehow faster than her. Before Kara knew what was happening, Lena was holding out a forkful of the scrambled egg to Alex’s mouth, making sure a few slices of the vibrant red vegetables strewn about it made it in.

“Open up,” she said, her voice slightly deeper than usual.

To Kara’s utter astonishment and annoyance, Alex followed her instructions without making a fuss and furrowed her brows ever so slightly when she started chewing, clearly unfamiliar with the taste and texture.

“That’s not bell pepper,” she observed dryly.

“Quite,” Lena replied, leaning in and wiping a bit of residual fat from the corner of Alex’s mouth. “I’ve been growing some of my very own Kryptonian vegetables, especially the ones not lethal to our more human palette.” She winked at Kara. “Although I’m saving some of the spicier ones for special occasions.”

Some of her annoyance melted away as Kara continued eating. “Where did you even get these?” The last time she’d tasted anything as good as this was back on Krypton, no matter how much she sang the praises of human food.

“I have my ways,” Lena said cheekily, which drew a snort from Alex.

“And a lot of shady friends.”

That earned her a slap on the shoulder from Lena, which made her laugh.

Kara watched their banter with a growing sense of worry.

 

-

 

Lena fed Alex not one, but two more forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

 

-

 

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this,” Alex said with ever growing incredulity as she put the movie _Mean Girls_ into the DVD player. “Kara wasn’t even on this planet when it came out and she’s seen it. How are you real.”

Lena shrugged from where she was preparing them all drinks.

They were sitting in the entertainment room of the yacht, which included a huge couch and television, as well as an assortment of old arcade machines in mint condition and a small bowling alley. Well, as small as a bowling alley could be when it was placed on a damn _yacht_.

Sometimes Lena’s wealth revolted Kara on a level she couldn’t put words to.

At least she knew her friend was also giving away much of her wealth to charity.

“I’m sorry that my sad childhood offends you,” Lena told Alex with a smirk. If her intention was to make Alex feel sheepish, she failed spectacularly, as Alex only shook her head and sat down next to Kara, who had been shoving nachos into her mouth up until now.

“You’ve been an adult for way longer, so you have no excuse not to have seen this movie,” Alex shot back, before snagging a nacho from Kara’s fingers and dipping it into the pot of melted cheese in front of her. It was bubbling away in a little cauldron on the table, that Kara found at once adorable and terribly ostentatious because it was _gold_ in color. “Again, see Kara, alien from a different planet, who has kept up with what is important.”

When Lena shot Kara an amused little look, she could only shrug at her foster sister’s insistence that _Mean Girls_ was one of their civilization’s great achievements.

“Well, I apologize,” Lena finally said as she brought over their drinks, before squeezing herself in between Alex and the arm of the couch, so Kara was forced to scoot over a little more. “I can’t believe I disappointed the great Director Danvers.” Lena held out her wrists as though to surrender to handcuffs. “Maybe you should just take me in now. Do whatever you want to me. Whatever punishment you see fit.”

It was so brazen it made Kara spew the nachos in her mouth all over her own knees in a wild coughing fit.

“I think it’ll be fine if you just watch the movie,” Alex replied, seemingly unaffected by Lena’s obvious flirtation. Instead of helping Kara with the nacho mess, she pressed the play button and simply held out a napkin to her.

Kara sighed inwardly. This vacation was not at all going how she had imagined.

 

-

 

Two more days on the yacht saw yet more moments in which Lena openly flirted with Alex, who either didn’t notice or didn’t mind enough to stop her. That second option, the one in which Alex didn’t _mind_ , was what kept Kara up at night.

She wasn’t even sure why it bothered her so much that it was Lena who was hitting on Alex, since Kara was used to her foster sister having girlfriends. There had been quite a few after Maggie, though none of them even half as serious. Maybe it was the thought of becoming a third wheel that was bothering her? Or the fear that a relationship between the two might tear their friendship apart once they broke up?

But what if they didn’t break up?

Sure, Lena herself was a bit of a serial dater, but if she was hitting on _Alex_ of all people, surely she wasn’t just looking for a quick fling. Not if their group dynamic was on the line. It had been hard enough to keep Maggie as a friend once she and Alex split, she couldn’t imagine something like that happening again.

Turning onto her side in the dark, Kara looked at Alex’s peacefully sleeping face next to her.

So what if Alex and Lena got together.

So what if they started a family and had a couple of tiny Danvers-Luthor children.

So what if Kara would have to stand on the sidelines and pretend to be happy for them.

As soon as the thought entered her brain, she hated herself for it. Because Alex deserved to be happy, no matter how much Kara wished her foster sister could find that happiness with _her_. And Lena was a wonderful person who would make Alex happier than anyone else Kara could possibly think of. She wasn’t even feeling arrogant enough to assume _she_ herself could do a better job.

Besides, if Alex had ever even shown an inkling that she thought of Kara as anything other than her sister from another planet, then she might have been acting differently. But as it stood, Kara could do nothing but watch.

 

-

 

“Okay, no, you have to show me that move again,” Lena said sweetly as she leaned her waist against the pool table, the cue held loosely between her fingers. “I don’t think I’m getting it right.” Kara could tell that she’d purposefully messed up the shot, but she didn’t say anything as she watched Alex move her hands to Lena’s waist to put her back into position.

Alex was being hands-on in her approach, but she was professional, too. Friendly, but not invasive, and she didn’t press her hips against Lena’s backside. No, it was Lena who was doing all the pressing, all the suggestive touching.

When she hit the ball flawlessly into the left pocket, Alex lifted her hand to give her a high five, but Lena hugged her instead, and Kara glared down into her glass. She glanced over to the side and caught the eye of one of Lena’s staff. He gave her a sympathetic smile and she blushed, feeling like she’d just been caught doing something silly.

Which, okay. Fair. But that didn’t mean Kara had to like it.

 

-

 

“The view really is gorgeous,” Alex said suddenly, her arm leaning against the wall as she looked out of the porthole of their room. She was wearing a light blue shirt and a pair of shorts over her bikini, and her hair was still wet from the onboard pool of the yacht.

They’d spent the better part of the morning swimming and had retired to their room only a few minutes ago to squeeze in an afternoon nap before watching more movies after dinner.

“It is,” Kara replied earnestly, not taking her eyes off the tattoo on Alex’s ribs. Her shirt was open still, and the freckles on her body sometimes distracted Kara to the point that she walked into furniture. Right now, the worry lines around Alex’s eyes were soft and relaxed and her voice was barely louder than the push and pull of the ocean.

A moment of silence lapsed between them as Alex watched the horizon and Kara watched her.

Then, slowly, Alex pushed herself away from the porthole and looked over.

“Are you alright?” she inquired gently, walking to Kara, who was lying on the bed, and sitting down next to her. “You’ve been quiet all day.” She reached out and drew her finger along the back of Kara’s nose.

She had a softness about her that Kara rarely got to see, what with all of the dangerous things constantly swirling around in their orbit. And yet, she wished desperately to be the only one to have that softness, to be around Alex when she was like this, no matter how selfish that made her feel.

She didn’t mean for the words to spill out.

“Do you think Lena is attractive?”

It was dumb, anyway. Of course Lena was attractive; she was one of the most beautiful humans – people in general – Kara had ever laid eyes on. And yet she waited with bated breath as Alex furrowed her brows and opened her mouth.

“Sure,” she said, confusion laced through her tone. “Why?”

“You just…” Kara stalled, lowering her eyes from Alex’s and landing on the tattoo again. A sun enclosing the House of El crest. Alex’s preferred way to label her own House. “You’ve seemed very close these last few days, so…”

One of Alex’s eyebrows lifted.

“So…?” she asked, narrowing her eyes, clearly trying to figure out Kara’s angle. “We’re on vacation together.”

“I know, I know! I’m just saying,” Kara replied, focusing more closely on the tattoo. “I’m just worried about what it would do to our friend group if you and Lena, you know.” She consciously loosened the grip she had on the bedspread.

“If we what?” Alex asked pointedly, clearly intending for Kara to say it out loud. The horrible things she’d been thinking for the past five days, when she should have been relaxing. At least after this she’d know for sure. Maybe. If Alex didn’t clam up.

“If you and her, you know, start dating,” Kara rushed out, bracing herself against whatever negative reaction Alex might have. Especially if she thought Kara was being judge-y, which she _wasn’t_. Definitely not.

What she hadn’t been prepared for was Alex flopping onto her back and laughing loud enough that Kara could feel the bed vibrating with her mirth. She slapped her hand against her stomach and wiped tears from her eyes, and Kara glowered.

“Hey! It’s not funny!” Kara shot back, shooting out her hand to still Alex’s so she would stop slapping herself. “If the two of you got together, it could seriously mess up things for all of us!” She sat up and pouted down at Alex.

“Yeah,” Alex said through her residual chuckles. “For you, mostly.”

The words pushed through Kara’s defenses and made her freeze.

“Why would you say that?” she asked quickly, letting go of Alex’s wrist.

“Come on, Kara,” Alex said without malice, lifting her left shoulder in a half-shrug. “I know what’s going on.”

Gulping almost audibly, Kara scooted back a little.

“You do?” she asked, self-consciously rubbing her forearm.

“Of course I do. Do you think I’m blind?” Alex shook her head a little sadly and looked at the ceiling. “I’ve always known.” She smiled a little, though Kara thought it looked a little pained. However, that was nothing against the downright panic Kara felt building in her own stomach.

“You have?”

Kara’s nails dug into the skin of her own arm, and she knew anything that was born of Earth would have snapped in her grip like a twig.

“Yeah,” Alex said, letting out a sigh. “But you don’t have to worry about me getting in the way, Kara.” She looked soft and kind, then, and Kara furrowed her brows in confusion. “Lena is just a friend, honest.”

“Why would you get in the way of anything if you’re the one I…” Kara whispered, the words escaping her before Alex’s had truly entered her big, Kryptonian brain and taken root. If Alex wouldn’t stand in the way, then…

Oh no.

“What?” Alex asked, her eyes instantly lifting to Kara’s.

“Forget I said anything,” Kara said quickly, before she was off the bed and at the other end of the room. Her hand curled around the door handle to the ensuite bathroom, but then Alex was on her feet, too.

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, lifting her hands in a placating gesture. “Hold up.”

With a groan, Kara knocked her head against the door, softly enough that it wouldn’t leave a dent.

“Can’t you just drop it?”

“No,” Alex said clearly, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m going to need you to finish what you were about to say there.” Her shoulders were stiff, the way they hadn’t been the entire trip. The way that contrasted so strongly with that first afternoon where Kara had been looking at her. Unseen. Before _this_.

Bringing a hand to her forehead, Kara sighed.

“I _like_ you, okay? There, I said it. I’ve liked you for years, but it’s not a big deal.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair. “I’ve never expected anything from you and that won’t change now that you know.” She vaguely waved her hand in Alex’s direction. “So there. Now you know. Your foster sister is crushing on you.”

Alex’s hands fell to her side, and for the first time, Kara could focus enough to take notice of how fast the second heart in the room was beating. Faster than it did during any mission.

“Well,” Alex said, ineffectually pawing at her own shorts for a second, as though looking for a pocket. “That. That is… well.”

This was not quite the reaction Kara had hoped for. If Alex had been yelling, then at least Kara could have been yelling back at her with all of the arguments she’d prepared years ago if this was ever revealed. But Alex just looked sort of contrite, and not even in a particularly weirded out way.

Feeling petulant, Kara now crossed her own arms over her chest.

She’d just made a declaration, here!

“Feel free to jump in at any time, Alex. I just bared my soul to you,” she snarked, confusion making her feel meaner than she meant to. This was not how this was supposed to go. Not at all. “Scream at me or throw a pillow. Call me a liar or a pervert alien. Anything.”

“Sorry,” Alex replied, before sitting back on the bed again. “Sorry, I’m mostly just mad at myself.”

A spark shot through Kara.

This, she could work with. A self-loathing Alex was one she was familiar with.

“It’s not your fault,” she said, all fire gone from her tone. “You didn’t do anything; it was all me.”

But then, Alex shook her head and waved her words away with a flick of her wrist.

“No, no, I’m not—that’s not what I’m mad about,” Alex replied, looking sort of shell-shocked. “I was _so_ sure you didn’t feel that way about me.” She scratched at the back of her head. “I mean, I tried to work it out after Maggie and…” She shook her head. “Are you _sure_ you like me?”

“Do you want me to hire a sky writer?” Kara asked, some of that soft annoyance returning. Alex was being too calm about this. This wasn’t at all how she’d imagined the big scene for all these years.

“Sorry,” Alex apologized again, before she sighed and patted the bed next to her, indicating that Kara should sit down. “You never said anything about it, and you’ve always been very affectionate, so I didn’t think anything of it.” She rubbed at the back of her neck again. “I feel like an idiot.”

Slowly, Kara walked back over and sank down on the bed next to her foster sister.

“Don’t, please, I never meant to tell you. I don’t want to make this weird. I know you don’t feel the same,” Kara said with an awkward little shrug.

A small laugh escaped Alex’s lungs.

“Except that I do.”

Again, Kara froze, her eyes staring straight ahead at the nice carpeting under her feet, because there was no way she’d heard that right. It was impossible. She’d been pining after Alex for literal years at this point and now _this_?

“Don’t lie to me,” Kara said quickly, gnarling her hands together in her lap. “Don’t try to make me feel better.”

“I’m really not.” Alex sighed and let herself fall back onto the bed. “Honestly, at this point, I wish I was.” Her legs stretched out, her feet coming into view as Kara refused to look at her. “Because that would mean that we hadn’t been totally wasting our time for literal fucking years.”

Kara rubbed her face.

“You really like me?” she asked, finally turning so she could look at Alex’s face.

The look she saw there immediately made her turn back around.

“Kara,” Alex said softly, before sitting up again.

“You like me,” Kara whispered to herself, reevaluating every interaction the two of them had had over the last five years.

“Kara,” Alex said more sternly, pulling her out of her ever-worsening downward spiral in her brain and back to the moment. Back to the ship, to Alex sitting next to her and looking at her that way she had a million times before. That way that Kara should have _seen_ , somehow. If she hadn’t been so worried about hiding her own.

“We’re both idiots,” Kara finally said, reaching out tentatively and taking Alex’s hand. “You really, _really_ like me?”

Alex smiled a little sadly.

“I got a tattoo of your family crest on my body,” she said, curling her second hand around the one Kara was already holding. “I didn’t stay with Maggie because I couldn’t stomach the thought of never giving you a family to hold onto after I’m gone.” She bumped her forehead against Kara’s.

“We _are_ both idiots,” Kara repeated, sliding her nose against Alex’s.

 

-

 

They’d moved their quiet conversation about their feelings back onto the bed, with Kara’s head pillowed on Alex’s chest and Alex’s arms wrapped tightly around her. They hadn’t done much else, but Kara was still riding the high of finally having the truth off her chest. She couldn’t yet imagine how life would change for them once they were back in National City. Hell, once they were back in Lena’s company.

Oh Rao, and Lena…

“I feel bad,” Kara grumbled against the skin under her mouth, her fingers pressing down a little harder against the tattoo on Alex’s ribs. She’d so far been unable to stop touching it.

“Why?” Alex asked, her fingers sifting through Kara’s hair and running along her back. She hadn’t bothered to do her shirt back up yet and Kara certainly wasn’t complaining. Although it was strange, finally being allowed to touch without feeling awful about it.

“Lena,” Kara said, putting her chin on Alex’s sternum and whining a little. “If we tell her we got together, she’ll be crushed. She’s been trying to get your attention so much.” Pushing herself onto her arms, Kara looked down at Alex, at the adorable way she frowned up at her.

“No she hasn’t,” Alex retorted, elegantly moving past the fact that they hadn’t actually talked about _dating_ , per se, and yet Kara had already decided they were together. “She’s been trying to make you jealous. If anything, she’ll be crushed she can’t be with _you_.”

“Lena does _not_ like me. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Well she definitely doesn’t like _me_.”

A bigger furrow appeared between Kara’s brows, and Alex poked her there playfully.

“Stop that,” Kara said, grabbing Alex’s fingers.

“Why? You look so cute when I do it.”

The words brought a slight flush to Kara’s cheeks, because now that there were feelings behind those words, actual real romantic feelings, they felt different to her. Alex had called her cute too many times to count over the years, but she’d never done it with that fire behind her eyes. Or maybe she had. Kara couldn’t tell anymore.

“Do you think we should tell her at all?” Kara asked, reasonably certain that she and Alex wouldn’t reach a consensus about Lena and her feelings anytime soon, but she could tell right away that her suggestion didn’t sit well with Alex in the way she looked away. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”

“If you think it’s for the best.”

Alex was so strong, and to see her break herself down in order to accommodate Kara was never easy, but especially not when it was about something so important. And Kara could see that Alex hated the thought of not being honest about the way she felt. Not now that it was out there.

Lifting her hand, Kara turned Alex’s face back to her own, her thumb sliding across Alex’s bottom lip. They hadn’t kissed, not yet, and Kara was growing a tiny bit impatient with that situation. She’d imagined kissing Alex for longer than she cared to admit, and she’d dreamed about it, too. About more than that.

“I don’t want to hide what you mean to me,” she enunciated clearly, holding Alex’s gaze. “Not a single part of it.”

Alex’s heart was working overtime again, and Kara didn’t hesitate as she leaned in.

The kiss was sweet and a little overwhelming.

Many times over the years, Kara had refamiliarized herself with the texture of Alex’s skin, so much so that it felt as natural to touch it as breathing. But she’d never truly felt this part of her before, certainly not like this. The texture of her lips was different to what Kara had experienced before, and they were warm; a little dry after being in the water without having lip balm applied to them.

A pleased hum rumbled in Alex’s chest as they lazily slanted their lips together, tilting their heads this way and that for a good few seconds. It was a sound that Kara wanted to curl up in; a sound that she wanted to build a home for in her own chest.

“I guess we’ll see if there’s a moment that feels right,” Alex offered as a compromise, once their lips had separated for longer than two seconds. Once Kara had moved on to nuzzling Alex’s cheek and temple.

“Mmh,” Kara agreed, her fingers returning to the tattoo on Alex’s ribs. “Let’s talk about that later, yeah?”

Alex snorted.

Then, before she could say anything, her mouth was otherwise occupied again.

 

-

 

In her own suite, Lena was sitting on her desk chair and smiling at her computer screen.

“I’d say it’s going well so far,” she said as she continued to lather her nails in dark red polish. “I think Kara was about ready to crush her glass when I hugged Alex in the pool.” She sniggered. “We’ll get them there. They won’t even know what to do with themselves by the end of the trip.”

“As long as they finally stop this charade of sisterhood,” Cat replied, her voice coming through the speakers. She was sitting on a sun lounger of her very own, though not on the yacht. Lena, who had been to her friend’s summer home many times, could recognize the distinctive pattern of her large balcony floor on any picture. Let alone on a live broadcast. “I swear, Kara’s letters have grown ever more erratic over the years.”

“Mmh, I’m sure,” Lena replied with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “Either way, they’ll be ready to confess by the end of this trip whether they want to or not. I can’t stand to see them so sad anymore.”

Blowing gently on her nails, Lena waved over Charlotte, who had been preparing a small mid-afternoon snack for herself.

“Don’t you agree, Charlie? We’re making great progress, aren’t we?” she smiled at the woman, who set the plate with her salad down in front of her.

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied, taking Lena’s nail polish and capping it, before returning it to the vanity next to one of the portholes.

“Just make sure you don’t give poor Director Danvers a heart attack, won’t you? I’m not sure that woman would be able to pick up on your flirtations unless you actually exposed yourself to her, and I don’t want that death on my conscience,” Cat said in between sips from her martini.

“Are you implying that my naked body could kill a woman, Cat? Because at this point you should know better than to flirt with me.” Lena chuckled when Cat rolled her eyes beneath her sunglasses.

“As ever, you wish for things beyond your station,” Cat tossed back, tickling yet another chuckle from Lena’s throat.

Little did Lena know that the next time she put her hand high up on Alex’s thigh, Kara would almost melt her face off. If she had, maybe she would have had a more substantive afternoon snack to get ready.

**Author's Note:**

> happy holidays, y'all! try not to drown in all the festive cheer!
> 
> beta-d by the lovely intothegrave! ♥
> 
> if you want to support me, find me on tumblr @goshdarnitjay xoxo


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